Lake Conway Health Before and After the Oil Spill

Donetha Groover
djgroover@ualr.edu

Abstract

Lake Conway is a manmade reservoir in Arkansas. In 2013 there was an oil spill in
Mayflower, Arkansas that impacted the Lake. Anything that has to do with
Mayflower, Arkansas has interested me because my grandmother was born there,
so I took special note of the oil spill. This paper intends to analyze how the lake
may have been impacted.

Background

General Information
Lake Conway is located in north central Arkansas. It was built specifically as a place
for fishing by impounding Palarm Creek. The Arkansas Game and Fish either bought
land, or if the people would not sell they used eminent domain to take the land and
build the 6700-acre lake6. At 6700 acres Lake Conway is the largest man-made lake
built by a state agency in the United States 2. It officially opened on July 4, 1951 and
has since been a favorite place for fishermen to catch numerous types of fish.
Lake Features
As stated above Lake Conway consists of 6700 acres. It has 52 miles of shoreline.
Depth can reach 18 feet, but averages about 6 feet 2. Its a eutrophic reservoir that
has many submerged cypress trees located in it 15. The bottom of Lake Conway is
mostly soft mud, but there are deposits of shale or rock dispersed throughout 6.
Palearm Creek brings in about 50% of the water flowing into the lake. Stone Dam
Creek, Gold Creek, and Carney Creek brings in another 31% of lakes inflow. Mixed
in with the water from Stone Dam Creek is sewage from the community of Conway 3.
33% of the 136 square mile watershed surrounding the reservoir is urban use, while
another 33% is pasture. The other 33% is forest 6.
The water level of Lake Conway is controlled by a spillway with 15 gates that are
manually operated. One of those gates takes water to Bell Slough Wildlife
Management Area. There is also an earthen dam that is 1000 feet 4.
Wildlife Diversity
Since Lake Conway was built as a reservoir specifically for fishing it should be no
surprise that there is a great selection of fish living in the lake. Blue catfish,
Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Crappie, Flathead Catfish, Largemouth Bass and Redear
Sunfish are the main sport fish found in the lake, but there are many other species
to be found as well-4. Bowfin, Buffalo, Bullhead, Chain Pickerel, Common Carp,
Drum, Grass Carp, Green Sunfish, Hybrid Bream, Longear Sunfish, Longnose Gar,
Warmouth, Shad and White Bass can also be found in the lake 4. In 1968 a fish
nursery was built. Before then Crappie were not found often. The nursery raises
Crappie until large enough to be safe from predators and then releases them into
the lake every year-2.
Apparently Lake Conway is a great place for aquatic creatures to live. In 2003 an
octopus was found clinging to one of the spillway gates 5. In 2015 a fisherman
caught a piranha in the lake7. Alligators sightings are not uncommon 11. This year,
2016, a fisherman pulled a 4-foot turtle out of the waters 10.
From the 1950s all the way up into the 1970s there were even monster sightings. It
was much like the Bigfoot. Legend says you could smell it before you saw it 8.

The Oil Spill

On March 29, 2013 an interstate pipeline, called the Pegasus Pipeline, that carries
heavy crude oil ruptured in Mayflower, Arkansas. The oil went into the surrounding
neighborhood and waterways, including Lake Conway. An approximate 3190 barrels
of oil was released16. That equates to 134,000 gallons. The EPA classified the
Mayflower spill as major.
ExxonMobil was ordered to clean up the spill and test the water quality of Lake
Conway to keep track of any damages done. The residents of Mayflower filed a
lawsuit against the company for damages to property and health. In 2015
ExxonMobil settled charges for $5.07 million16. The company still refused to admit
liability.

Water Quality

Testing Sites
After the oil spill a number of metals were found at unsafe levels in the lake. See
table 1 for safe levels. In this paper I concentrated on 5 sites. These 5 sites have
information spanning from before the oil spill to after it. Site one and seven are
located on highway 89 on the right side of the first bridge after exiting I-40. Site six
and seven are on the left side of the bridge. Site two is off of highway 89 at the
narrows bridge. Testing on sites 1 and 2 lasted until June of 2015 1. On site 4 testing
was only done until August of 2013. Sites 6 and 7 were tested up until April 2014 1.
All data was taken from reports located on the Arkansas Department of
Environmental Quality (ADEQ) website1.
Regular Studies
Normally to study water quality temperature, pH level, dissolved oxygen levels, and
turbidity is tested to determine water quality9. Information on these things is
available from before the oil spill, but only for four months after the oil spill.
Therefore, it is difficult to determine the health of Lake Conway based on these
tests. As would be expected turbidity peaked after the oil spill, but 4 months after it
went back to pre-oil spill levels. Dissolved oxygen at site 6 tanked after the oil spill,
while at site 1 and 2 it spiked. Of the five sites, site 2 was the furthest away from
the oil site, and more in the actual lake.

Elements Found
Aluminum is never found free in nature. Some aluminum will always be found in
water due to weathering of rocks and minerals 13. Aluminum acts as a toxin on fish
that leads to osmoregulatory failure. It can interfere with mammals and birds
metabolic processes14. Aluminum levels in Lake Conway have always been on the
high side. As expected there was a dramatic increase after the oil spill, especially at
site 1. Site 1 was the closest site to the oil spill actually on the lake. There was
another small spike in April of 2014.

Iron and manganese causes an orange and brown colored coating on the bottom of
the body of water. This can smother what life there is in the water 13. There is a
large spike in both iron and manganese after the oil spill, the biggest at site 4 and
site 1. Throughout the years since the oil spill there have been small spikes in iron
levels. Manganese remains high throughout time, although not as high as in the 2
months after the oil spill.

Barium is quite abundant on earth. It can cause brain swelling and liver damage in
humans. In aquatic organisms it causes no problems, but will accumulate in their
bodies. This can be dangerous if those fish are eaten 13. Site 1 shows the highest
spike after the oil spill, but all sites show elevated barium. Barium has remained
elevated, although not as much as right after the oil spill.

Boron naturally occurs in the environment through weathering. In high

concentrations it can cause birth defects in animals and sterility in males. Animals
that breathe in boron will have respiratory irritation 13. Boron was only found at sites
1 and 4. The highest concentration was actually before the oil spill. Levels of boron
has actually stabilized at safe levels in Lake Conway.

Chromium gets absorbed into the sediment. High levels will damage fish gills. In
animals Chromium can cause birth defects, tumors, infertility, and respiratory
problems13. Sites 1, 6, and 7 were the only ones to show chromium. Highest levels
were shown right after the oil spill at sites 1 and 7. Levels went down for a time,
but climbed again in 2014 at site 7.

Arsenic occurs due to lead and zinc production. It cannot be destroyed once it
enters the environment. Plants absorb arsenic extremely easy. In fish arsenic can
cause genetic changes. Once those fish are eaten the arsenic can cause death in
the consumer13. Arsenic was only detected at site 7. The highest spike was actually
4 months after the oil spill. Arsenic has spiked a few times since then. Unsafe levels
were still present in April of 2014 when testing was stopped at this site

Beryllium occurs naturally in soil due to erosion. In water it becomes insoluble due
to its reaction to other chemicals. This means it will not accumulate in aquatic
animals. It can however be absorbed by plants, and get into the food chain that
way. It can cause cancer and DNA changes 13. Only sites 4 and 7 registered the
presence of beryllium. Amounts spiked after the oil spill, but have since gone down
to a safe level and remained there.

Cobalt is essential to life. However, high amounts can cause cancer. Once in the
environment cobalt cannot be removed. It will accumulate in plants and animals 13.
Cobalt was only found at sites 1 and 7. After the initial spike after the oil spill levels
have remained at safe levels.

Copper does not break down. It can affect the acidity of the soil. Decomposition of
organic material may be slowed down due to the presence of Copper. It will
accumulate in plants and animals and thereby get into the food chain. This metal
can cause liver and kidney problems13. Copper levels were mildly elevated before
the spill. Site 4 and 7 spiked after the oil spill. Site 2 spike a year later. At site 1
levels spike 2 years after the oil spill.

Lead ends up in the environment due to gas and corroded pipes, as well as such
things as lead paint. Lead will accumulate in organisms and lead to poisoning. It
effects phytoplankton which leads to less oxygen production 13. After initial spikes
after the oil spill levels of lead have remained at safe levels.

Zinc is found naturally on the earth; however, levels are rising. An excess of zinc
will increase the acidity of water. It will accumulate in organisms and enter the food
chain. Decomposition of organic material may be slowed down. It can affect the
pancreas and cause anemia13. Zinc was only found at sites 4 and 7. Site 4 spiked,
but quickly went back down. At site 7 zinc actually spiked highest 8 months after
the spill.

Enzymes can be inhibited by vanadium. These can lead to nervous system and
respiratory system problems. Vanadium can also cause liver and kidney problems
in organisms13. Only site 7 showed vanadium. Levels have been at safe levels since
the initial spike after the oil spill.

Conclusion

In April of 2014 a tornado came through and hit the town of Mayflower. That seems
to be responsible for the spikes of elements a year after the oil spill. Many of the
elements have gone down to acceptable levels. However, there is no data available
for the past year, so it is unclear if arsenic, chromium, and manganese are back to
safe levels at Lake Conway.

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Table 112
Metal
Aluminum
Iron
Manganese
Barium
Arsenic
Boron
Chromium
Beryllium
Cobalt
Copper
Lead
Zinc

Safety Threshold
87 g/l
300 g/l
50 g/l
300 g/l
150 g/l
0
12 g/l
0
0
0
2.5 g/l
120 g/l

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References

1. ADEQ - Haz Waste - Water Data - Mayflower Oil Spill. (2016).

Www2.adeq.state.ar.us. Retrieved 31 July 2016, from
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2. AGFC |
Lake Information and Maps. (2016). Agfc.com. Retrieved 31 July
2016, from http://www.agfc.com/fishing/Pages/fishingLakesDetail.aspx?
show=Craig%20D.%20Campbell%20Lake%22Conway%20Reservoir
3. Arkansas Department of Pollution Control and Ecology. (1998). Water Quality
Study of Lake Conway, Faulkner County, Arkansas.
4. Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Fisheries Department and Lake Conway
Citizen Advisory Committee, (2003). Lake Conway Management Plan.
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31 July 2016, from http://www.kait8.com/story/1549863/fisherman-catchesoctopus-in-arkansas-lake
6. FTN Associates LTD, (2016). Craig D. Campbell Lake Conway Reservoir and
Inflow Tributaries Water Quality and Sediment Study. ADEQ. Retrieved from
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7. Gerken, J. (2015). Fisherman Catches Piranha On Arkansas Lake: 'I About
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12.National Recommended Water Quality Criteria - Aquatic Life Criteria Table |
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District of Arkansas 2013).

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